Swallow's adventures

We considered A Coruna to Muros in one hit; this would mean an overnight sail so we decided to stop at Camarinas first. So on Sunday 11 Sept at 0815 we set off on what should have been an 8 hour trip- not to be! At 1000 we encountered fog for an hour and a half (luckily we were in tandem with Locomotion so we kept a look out for each other); then the sun came out but there was no wind to speak of. At 1200 the fog returned for an hour, along with a 2-3 metre swell and a force 4 south westerly wind! At 1530 the wind increased to force 4/5 with gusts of force 6; we had one reef in the main sail and the Genoa was mostly furled in. This was probably our most uncomfortable sail so far and the auto helm could not cope with the now 3 metre swell . At 1830 the wind and swell dropped slightly so both sails were out on a close haul port tack. At 1900 the evening sun was upon us, we battled on, tacking several times and eventually arrived in Camarinas at 2130 just before dark- a 13 hour day; our whole bodies ached from tensing up with all the rolling around and we were so relieved to have arrived.
Camarinas was a still, peaceful place to haul up after a horrible journey but there was not a lot going on; so we spent the next few days recharging ourselves and catching up on the blog, emails ,etc in the marina bar. We kept a close eye on the constantly changing weather forecast so that we could pick our moment to move on - I use an app called Windyty which can seem terrifying when it displays bright pink swirls of wind ( force 8/9); luckily for us it appeared that the heavy winds were heading east .
On Thursday 19 September we set off at 0830 for Muros. The exit from the ria was bumpy to say the least - 3.5 metre swell! We were close hauled (heading into the wind) with a reefed main to stabilise us; the deep troughs and white crests on the waves looked pretty frightening, Paul helmed which took deep concentration. We were in company again - Locomotion, Iolandra and Louis; this does, strangely, make you feel safer. At 1130 the swell died down, although the sea was still fairly rough, so we furled out the genoa and sailed along at a speed of 5.5 knots along the 'Coast of Death'; the name itself is terrifying but as we rounded Cabo Finisterre (renowned for rough seas- in fact, if you took notice of everything the pilot books say you wouldn't venture anywhere!) everything calmed down. At 1400 we were delighted to see four dolphins 'fly' across the waves towards us, we were then surrounded by about twenty of them playing and fishing; they always seem to turn up when you need a bit of reassurance and immediately lift our spirits. At 16.30 we entered the Ria de Muros, the waves were crashing onto the rocks and there was a great wind, enabling us to sail 5 miles up the two mile wide river to Muros harbour; this was the best part of the day- such a beautiful setting of hills clad with pine trees and scattered villages; the river is a great sailing ground- much friendlier than out at sea! At 1730 we were directed to a berth by Pedro who runs the marina, what a lovely man!
Muros marina is extremely sheltered and peaceful. The facilities are in a small, converted house and consist of two lounges, a kitchen, bathrooms and a little garden - it's so cute! Pedro is very friendly and has told us to treat it as our home. He's done us a great deal, along with our Cruising Association discount, as Swallow will be here for a month in total as we will be returning home for two weeks.
Muros is a charming, unspoilt fishing town with narrow streets, old houses, a Romanesque church and an indoor market ; market stalls line the promenade twice a week and there is a fish stand next to the marina selling the daily local catch. There are many small bars and restaurants with tapas aplenty (Pedro recommended Muradana restaurant , ran by a brother and sister, and their father and grandfather before that , we had some delicious fresh fish here). The views across the river are stunning, we went for a lovely walk around the bay to visit the old tide mill which was built in 1920 and stopped working in 1970. There are mussel rafts out in the ria and most days we have seen people on the beach collecting shellfish from the rocks. We spoke to a German guy who lives aboard in the marina, he told us that there is a lot of poverty in Northern Spain: the unemployment rate is 50% and the minimum wage is 3 euros (no wonder it's so cheap for us to visit here); despite this the people are so cheerful, friendly and genuine - you do not get any sense of being ripped off anywhere and there doesn't appear to be any crime either.
We visited Santiago de Compostella by bus (famous for the pilgrimage, the way of St James). We witnessed a constant flow of visitors armed with their walking sticks and backpacks; there are, of course, numerous shops selling souvenirs, cashing in on the religious fervour. The cathedral was stunning with its' massive incense burner (made my nose itch) and gold leaf altar. There are several areas for mass to be held in different languages and several confessional boxes. The whole city is littered with churches and nunneries.
We are now busy cleaning the boat and preparing for our trip home on Friday 23 September 2016- looking forward to seeing our family and friends.